You filthy little mudblood!
by Iamdramionetrash
Summary: AU. They were eleven and he called her a Mudblood. Then, they were seventeen and she told him everything would be okay.


**Here's a random oneshot. I hope it doesn't seem too disjointed. Draco is pretty OOC but I love this view of him :) hope you enjoy! Please like/reblog/review! I love feedback! I might continue this into a longer story so let me know if you like it! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe, Hermione Granger, or Draco Malfoy**

"You filthy little mudblood!"  
The words stung. She didn't know why, but they did. She didn't know what a mudblood was but the way it rolled from his lips, hissed, rasped from the eleven-year-old blond boy's throat.  
Tears stung behind her eyes but she couldn't cry. Why would she cry about something she didn't understand? Hogwarts was supposed to be magical and beautiful and different. The bushy haired girl never expected to have insults tossed her way from some pale, short, skinny little kid with a perpetual sneer on his face.  
She wouldn't cry. At least not here. Definitely not in front of him.

"You filthy little mudblood!"  
That was the first time he'd ever said those words to someone else. Sure, he'd heard them whispered and yelled from his parents and his parents' friends but he'd never actually articulated them himself.  
Immediately afterward he felt a sharp pang of guilt as he saw the shock in her eyes.  
He'd never been the nicest kid on the playground but he'd never felt this horrible for saying a single sentence before. As he noticed her brown eyes cloud with tears, his stomach lurched. Then he saw a stony resolve set her features and she turned away, her skirt swooshing around her hips.

Once she was alone, in an empty corridor, she let the tears flow.  
 _This is so stupid!_ She thought. _Why am I crying? How can I be so hurt when I don't even know what he called me?_  
The tears ceased and she slowly walked toward the library, determined to find a book to explain "mudblood". She immediately walked to a shelf that she knew had a Wizarding dictionary on it and yanked it off the shelf. Hauling the book to a corner table so she wouldn't be disturbed, she slammed it down, plopped into a wooden chair, and wrenched the cover open.  
" _Mudblood: the derogatory term referring to any witch or wizard born of non-magical parents._ "  
At first she scoffed and huffed, getting increasingly angry.  
 _How is it my fault that my parents aren't magical?_ She screamed in her head.  
She wanted to go punch the little twerp right in his pointy face.  
Hermione sat fuming for a good ten minutes, then she heard footsteps. She mashed the dictionary closed, swept it into her arms, and stood, preparing to replace it on the shelf it belonged. Tucking stray strands of curly brown hair behind her ear, she looked up to see the person she had just been wishing physical pain upon.

Draco had been mulling over what he might say to her the next time he saw her. He could easily scream another jab and walk away, whisper something horrid, or just glare in her direction, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. After seeing the hurt in her soft brown eyes, he couldn't stand to see it again.  
Hermione expected him to have a sneer on his face, like always, but his sharp features seemed softer, his steel grey eyes not filled with hate.  
He opened his mouth to speak then slowly closed it again, not knowing what he could say, then he spied the thick book in her thin arms.  
"Oh." He breathed.  
Her eyes dropped to the floor and she let the book slide back down onto the table, her hand resting atop it.  
"Just… go away, please." The brunette whispered, eyes still averted to the ground.  
Instead of leaving, he took a tentative step closer to her. Hermione's shoulders immediately tensed and there was a sharp intake of breath.  
"Just… please." She said, this time with more resolve.  
"I - I'm sorry." He stammered then turned on his heel and exited.

The next time they saw each other, Hermione glanced in his direction and he smiled, the tiniest little smile. After the apology, she had been shocked and sat there at the table for a solid hour, wondering what could have brought the sudden change in Malfoy.

Over the course of the next few years, the two had few conversations but regularly exchanged tentative glances across the Great Hall or passing in corridors. Nothing had really come out of their glances but there was always a "could be" in the back of each of their minds.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco walked through the rubble after escaping the stares of shocked students and teachers. He felt the weight of guilt upon his shoulders thinking that maybe he could've done something to lessen the number of casualties for both sides. He could've gone to Dumbledore or asked Snape for help or even confided in Hermione if he ever got the nerve to have a real conversation with her.  
The blond picked up a piece of the castle stone and hurled it as hard as he could, letting a scream rip from his lungs as he did so.  
"Malfoy?" He whipped around to find Hermione tentatively standing a few meters away.  
He dropped his gaze to the ground and kicked at the rubble. Rocks rustled as the girl took a few steps toward him and he kept his stare downward.  
"Are… are you okay." She asked.  
He looked up with a fierce expression and Hermione almost stumbled backward.  
"Okay? Am I okay?! I just fought in a battle I thought would never end, watched countless people I know die, and betrayed many others in the process! I didn't do _anything_ to stop it and I had it in my power to! I was scared and juvenile and stupid and _cowardly_ and… I could've prevented all of this but I _didn't._ " He practically screamed.  
His breathing was now heavy and he felt slightly light-headed but, oddly, like a weight had been lifted.  
Draco locked eyes with Hermione and, to his surprise, he didn't see what he expected. He expected her to cry, or scream at him, or run away in terror but she didn't. Instead, she looked concerned. She took a few solid steps toward him and placed her warm hands on either side of his face, looking deeply into his eyes; then, she did something he would've never expected in a million years: she pulled him into a tight hug.  
Her arms encircled his neck and she rose to her tippy-toes to embrace him. At first he was stunned, didn't know exactly what to do, then he returned the hug and buried his face in her curls. Her hair smelled of strawberries and vanilla and was much softer than he had anticipated.  
The hug lasted for a long time, until Hermione loosed her grasp, but didn't drop her arms. Her hands settled onto his shoulders and she looked into his eyes again.  
"You did what you thought you could and we can't dwell on the past."  
He stared into her chocolate eyes and wondered why she was here, telling him that it was all okay when she didn't know a single thing about what he had done and who he had done it to.  
Draco glanced down at his left forearm and wished to everything that the evil black ink would disappear.  
"Why are you even here, Granger?"  
"I honestly don't know, but I felt like you needed someone. So here I am," She spoke with nonchalance then removed her right hand from his shoulder and used it to lift his chin,"And because I remember a snarky little eleven-year-old boy who called me a rude name, then found me in the corner of the library and apologized." At this, Draco smiled and pulled her into another hug.  
"Gra-"  
"My name is Hermione." She stated.  
He took a deep breath then started again, "Hermione," he felt his heart skip a beat, "Thank you."  
Now it was Hermione's turn to have her heart flutter. She smiled into his shoulder and whispered, "You're welcome."  
Then, Draco released Hermione and held out a hand with long pale fingers. The girl eyed it questioningly.  
"The name's Draco Malfoy." He smiled.  
Hermione firmly grasped his hand and laughed, "Nice to meet you, Draco. Hermione Granger."


End file.
